1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to clamp-type garment hangers having non-slip surfaces for gripping garments. More particularly, this invention relates to a clamp-type garment hanger having exposed gripping pad elements which are difficult to remove from the hanger.
2. State of the Art
A common problem associated with today's clamp-type garment hangers is that the garments slip through the clamp assemblies (clamps) and fall to the floor with unacceptable frequency. This problem is particularly annoying to garment suppliers, retailers, or others in the retail supply chain. In this supply chain, garments are placed on hangers at a place of manufacture (typically abroad) and then shipped on the hanger to a port of destination (often in the United States). From the port, the hung garments are distributed to stores throughout the U.S. for storage and display. Garments which slip through the clamps during transit, or even after display, often become wrinkled or soiled and represent a loss to the entity. This problem is likewise annoying to consumers who may place a relatively expensive and fragile garment, such as a pair of dress slacks or a skirt, on a clamp-style garment hanger. The slacks or skirt often slip through the clamp assemblies and fall to the floor, thereby becoming wrinkled and requiring ironing or dry cleaning.
In order to avoid this situation, manufacturers of clamp-style garment hangers have designed numerous types of clamp assemblies which provide a non-slip surface for gripping the garment. Some of those clamp assemblies have rough or sharp edges which grip the garment. However, clamp assemblies with rough garment-engaging surfaces have the potential of damaging delicate materials, such as silk or linen, through extended use.
In other prior art clamp type gripping hangers, the gripping or non-slip material is either glue bonded to the clamping member of the garment hanger or co-molded therewith. Hangers of this design have not been found to be particularly satisfactory for several reasons. From the point of view of the manufacturer, the operations of co-molding or gluing are expensive and slow and therefore have a deleterious effect on both the hanger production throughput and the hanger production cost. In addition, if a manufacturer is providing the retailer-purchaser with a hanger which cannot be easily disassembled and then re-assembled to change the gripping material or the thickness or size of the gripping pad, the versatility of the garment hanger is lost. During the life of a given garment hanger, it may be desirable at various times for the hanger to suspend various different fabrics, each calling for particular gripping pads adapted for that fabric. Co-molded or glued gripping pads are not easily replaceable by the retail customer.
Another clamp assembly, such as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,728 provides non-slip gripping surfaces which are integrally formed with the clamp jaws by injection molding with substantially identical materials where the gripping surfaces have relatively blunt relief structures which provide an increased coefficient of friction to the gripping surfaces. While hangers using this arrangement have been extremely successful commercially as they effectively prevent garment slippage without damaging the garment, it is desirable that the gripping surface be made from a softer material or different material than the remainder of the hanger in some circumstances, such as a material that provides a greater coefficient of friction for supporting heavier garments.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,634, a hanger having a clamp assembly with a snap-on non-slip pad made of different material than the hanger is disclosed. The hanger has clamping members of one material which are provided with slots extending through the middle of the clamping members, and a gripping pad of another material which has extending from its back surface two resilient arrow-shaped lugs which are adapted to be snapped into the slots. According to the patent, the gripping pad is made from a resilient friction material such as polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene.
While the snap-on non-slip pad arrangement disclosed by the '634 patent has certain advantages, it suffers from apparent disadvantages. More particularly, resistance to child tampering is often required by standards, such as certain VICS standards, commonly used in the retail industry. In order to comply with such standards and provide the necessary child proof features, the lugs of the snap-on pad are generally harder than the slots into which they are snapped. This effectively limits the pads to relatively hard materials which, if textured to provide an increased coefficient of friction, can damage delicate materials; and if not textured, do not provide desirable gripping characteristics.
An improvement to the solution suggested by the '634 patent is a hanger manufactured by Acotex Fast East Ltd. Of Hong Kong which provides clamping members having slots extending through the peripheral walls of the clamping members and a soft elastic gripping pad having T-shaped lateral extensions, the necks of which can be extended through the slots, and the heads of which hold against the back surface of the clamping members to prevent the gripping pad from falling off the clamping member. The elastic gripping pad is preferably provided with surface nubs to increase friction on the garment it is holding.
While the Acotex hanger provides certain desirable qualities, it suffers from the drawback that the gripping pad is easily removed by finger manipulation, particularly by children (e.g., by pulling on the head of the gripping pad and stretching the neck such that the head is released from its position against the back surface of the clamping member). Thus, the Acotex gripping pad is potentially unsafe and can represent a choking hazard to small children. In this regards, it does not comply with the industry standards that require child tamper-proof designs.